Attitudes toward interracial dating scale

The goal of the present research was to study two variables that may affect romantic attraction in the context of interracial relationships: social influence and political climate.

As a result, we know surprisingly little about how these relationships actually develop or what attracts people to partners of different races in the first place (save for a few exceptions [4,5,6]).For instance, a recent, nationally representative survey found that approximately two out of every five Americans reported that they would not be comfortable with a family member marrying someone of another race [1].Consistent with this, members of interracial couples frequently report high levels of perceived disapproval from family, friends, and society at large as a result of their relationship [2] and, importantly, this disapproval predicts future breakup [3].These findings suggest that social influence can affect perceptions of attractiveness even in very different political climates.Interracial marriage has reached an all-time high in the United States, with couples of different racial backgrounds now making up 8.4% of all marriages [1].Although many factors may contribute to disapproval of interracial dating, political variables appear to play a prominent role.

As some support for this idea, not only is political conservatism associated with less interest in dating outside of one’s race [4,5], but the lowest rates of interracial marriage tend to occur in the most politically “red” states [1].

Researchers have found social influence to be a reliable factor influencing perceptions of how people view potential romantic partners [7,8,9].

For instance, one study found that both male and female participants’ perceived desirability of a potential romantic partner was influenced by peer evaluations of several features of the target, including physical attractiveness, expressiveness, and earning potential [8].

Over the past few decades, attitudes toward interracial dating and marriage have changed.

Interracial relationships have become more widely accepted by society.

The hypotheses that will be analyzed include: how the strength of a person's religious beliefs will affect whether or not they choose a dating/marriage partner from a different race/ethnicity than their own and how the strength of their Christian beliefs affect how they choose a dating or marriage partner.